System and method enabling interactive services in alarm system environment

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a software as a service platform providing a system and method enabling interactive services between the end-users, emergency responders, and central monitoring stations. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the system provides an electronic notification of an alarm event to an end-user by way of a secure hyperlink to a web portal. The web portal provides a method enabling the end-user to interact with the central monitoring station and/or the emergency responders as well as view live and historical data from the alarm event including video. The system is configured to acquire historical video and data from the actual alarm triggering event from a variety of disparate sources including devices associated with life safety systems and lifestyle systems. The present invention, by enabling interactive services between the end-users, emergency responders, and central monitoring stations, provides better information and a better understanding of the alarm triggering event thereby informing decision making processes of the end-users, emergency responders, and central monitoring stations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.Utility patent application Ser. No. 16/184,835, filed on Nov. 8, 2018,entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD ENABLING INTERACTIVE SERVICES IN ALARM SYSTEMENVIRONMENT, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/583,433, filed Nov. 8, 2017, the entireties ofboth which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to alarm systems and centralmonitoring services and more particularly to a centrally hosted softwareas a service (SaaS) platform enabling interactive services betweenend-users, emergency responders, and central monitoring stations.

2. Description of Related Art

Homes and businesses equipped with alarm systems and video surveillanceare commonplace. Typically, the alarm system comprises a variety ofsensors and camera units in communication with a control panel withinthe location. In most instances, the alarm system control panelcommunicates over a network with a central monitoring station providingmonitoring services of the location for the end-user. In the event of asecurity breach, a signal from the alarm event is received at thecentral monitoring station and the operator reports the alarm event tothe end-user and in some instances emergency responders.

The recipient at the central monitoring station only knows when thesignal from the alarm event is received. This limited information isinsufficient for the end-user, the monitoring center, or emergencyresponder to make informed decisions. Oftentimes, the end-user does notrespond timely to an outbound monitoring agent call in response to analarm event. As a result of the limited interaction between the centralmonitoring station operator and the end-user, false alarms are oftenreported thereby needlessly draining the limited resources of emergencyresponders.

Over 98% of police dispatches are false alarms when using traditionalmonitoring because limited information is available to the monitoringagent and emergency responders. Emergency responders assign unverifiedalarm events non-critical status or a lower priority. A need thereforeexists for a platform enabling interactive services between theend-users, emergency responders, and central monitoring stations thatallow two-way communication with the end result being a betterunderstanding of the alarm triggering event—better information enablesbetter decisions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies of theprior art by providing a system and method including a SaaS platformthat enables interactive services between the end-users, emergencyresponders, and central monitoring station. In an exemplary embodimentof the invention, the system provides an electronic notification of analarm event to an end-user by way of a secure hyperlink to a web portal.The web portal provides a method enabling the end-user to interact withthe central monitoring station and/or the emergency responders as wellas view live and historical data from the alarm event including video.The system is configured to acquire historical video from the actualalarm triggering event, i.e., from the security breach of a door,window, or the like. In an alternative embodiment, a web portal isprovided securely to an emergency responder.

The foregoing, and other features and advantages of the invention, willbe apparent from the following more particular description of thepreferred embodiments of the invention, the accompanying drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantage thereof, reference is made to the ensuing descriptions takenin connection with the accompanying drawings briefly described asfollows:

FIG. 1 illustrates a process flow of the platform used by end-users,emergency responders, and central monitoring station operators forinteractive communication according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a non-limiting example of the end-user interface of theweb portal according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a process flow of the platform for retrievinghistorical data associated with an alarm signal according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process flow of the platform used by emergencyresponders for interactive communication according to an embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts a non-limiting example of the emergency responderinterface of the web portal according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the invention, aredescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying FIGS. 1-5.

Definitions

In some embodiments, as used herein, “alarm signaling” or “alarm signal”refers to a signal sent from a security system. The signal may be sentvia dial up, GSM, or IP. The signals are sent in industry formats, suchas Contact ID, DC-09, SIA, and the like. The expansion and addition ofdevices used in or as security systems has resulted in devices that donot necessarily use the industry standard language and formats. Thesenon-traditional signals are to be included in the definition of alarmsignaling. The present invention is configured to receive thesedisparate signal types and translate them into the languages alarmmonitoring station software platforms need to process the signals aswith a traditional security system.

In some embodiments, as used herein, “alarm monitoring center” refers toa central monitoring center where the signals from security systems aresent and processed. The term central monitoring station may be usedinterchangeably with alarm monitoring center. The alarm monitoringcenter includes the operator responsible for processing security systemsignals.

In some embodiments, as used herein, “web portal” refers to a web basedportal accessible to the end-user, central monitoring station, and insome instances emergency responders for engaging in the services of thepresent invention as described herein. The web portal may also be usedprogrammatically with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

In some embodiments, as used herein, “lifestyle systems” refers to andinclude the home automation capabilities now available as securitysystem add-ons. These interactive capabilities provide control overlights, locks, thermostats, and cameras via the security system. Thesefeatures may be accessed by the end-user by way of electronicnotifications, such as text message, or by way of a smart phone softwareapplication.

In some embodiments, as used herein, “life safety signal system” refersto an electronic system that is designed to prevent theft or intrusionand protect property and life. Security alarm systems, access controlsystems, fire alarm systems, and video surveillance systems are allnon-limiting examples of life safety signal systems.

In some embodiments, as used herein, “disparate platform signaling”refers to the process of receiving signals from different securitysystems and devices each having an important process but not necessarilymeant to share the signaling information beyond the realm of theend-user. The present invention includes a system configured to receivethe signals from each of these disparate platform signaling systemsincluding interactive services systems such as lifestyle and life safetysystems.

Interactive Communication

FIG. 1 illustrates a process flow of the platform used by end-users,emergency responders, and central monitoring station operators forinteractive communication according to an embodiment of the invention.At 100, an alarm triggering event occurs as a result of a securitybreach. The alarm triggering event is captured by a life safety system,which by way of non-limiting examples includes a variety of sensorsincluding door, window, motion, and/or glass break. It is to beunderstood that the alarm triggering event may also be captured byadd-on devices forming part of a lifestyle system. At 105, an alarmsignal from the alarm triggering event is transmitted by the life safetysystem to a central monitoring station and to the system of the presentinvention. In some embodiments, the service providing the devices of thelife safety system and/or lifestyle system also receives the alarmsignal. The central monitoring station operator initiates pre-determinedprotocols.

At 110, the system of the present invention sends an electronicnotification to the end-user, which may include any method of messagetransport including, but not limited to, email, text message, electronicmessenger services, social media accounts, software application, and thelike. The electronic notification includes a hyperlink to a uniqueUniform Resource Locator (URL). If more than one end-user is associatedwith the account of the life safety system, the system may be configuredto include all end-users to receive the electronic notification. The URLis unique in that it is specific to each end-user of the system. As aresult, access to the system of the present invention is limited only tothose end-users previously identified as permitted users. In addition,the unique URL specific to each end-user enables the system of thepresent invention to know which end-user opened the hyperlink to theunique URL. In an alternative embodiment, a unique pin code may beassociated with each permitted end-user to ensure only that particularend-user is capable of opening the hyperlink.

The URL specifies the location of a web portal of the system of thepresent invention. At 115, the end-user, by opening the hyperlink, isdirected to the web portal and may request responsive action to thealarm signal by way of the web portal. For example, the end-user mayrequest the alarm be cancelled, an emergency responder be dispatched tothe location, and/or may call and speak to the operator directly. Anon-limiting, exemplary embodiment of the end-user web portal isdepicted in FIG. 2. Because the system of the present invention is acentrally hosted SaaS platform, the end-user is not required to maintaina software application on their mobile and/or computing devices—aconnection to the internet is all that is required.

The end-user's experience via the web portal of the system includes thecomplete history of the alarm triggering event. The history viewable bythe end-user depicts the actions taken by the central monitoring stationoperator, the actions taken by other permitted end-users, and thedetails of the alarm triggering event such as timing, location, zone,etc. The history viewable by the end-user also informs whether permittedend-users or responsible parties are found within or nearby the locationof the alarm triggering event. For example, lifestyle systems or lifesafety systems may be configured to identify whether permitted end-usersare within the location using methods known to those of skill in the artincluding without limitation geofencing. The end-user may also beprovided live video or event-based video clips of the protected locationincluding video from the actual moment a sensor was breached resultingin the alarm signal generation.

The central monitoring station operator takes action as directed by theend-user and interacts with the system of the present invention by wayof a version of the web portal integrated with the central monitoringstation platform. Each action taken by the operator is therefore visibleto the end-users and dispatched emergency responders.

Because of the urgency associated with alarm signals, in the event theend-user does not open the hyperlink and/or is non-responsive, thecentral monitoring station operator would proceed pursuant topre-determined protocols. Any action taken by the operator is logged aspart of the history of the particular alarm triggering event ultimatelyreviewable by the end-user at a later time.

It is to be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that thesystem of the present invention is not limited to alarm signals but maybe associated with notifications relevant to lifestyle systems and lifesafety systems such as health diagnostics of devices, and the like.

Disparate Platform Signaling

When an alarm signal is transmitted and received by a central monitoringstation, the operator only knows the time at which the alarm signal wasreceived. The operator has limited, if any, information regarding theactual sensor responsible for creating the alarm signal or the timeassociated with the sensor being breached. For example, if a front doorto a location is breached, there is typically a pre-determined delayperiod within which a pin code may be entered into a control panel todisable the life safety system. If the pin code is not entered orentered incorrectly, an alarm signal is generated and transmitted to thecentral monitoring station. As a result of the pre-determined delayperiod, there is a time gap between the breach and transmission of thealarm signal.

The system of the present invention overcomes this deficiency asillustrated in FIG. 3. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the alarm signal istransmitted to the central monitoring station and to the system of thepresent invention at 100, 105. In FIG. 3, the system of the presentinvention at 106 requests the history of the alarm triggering event fromthe life safety and/or lifestyle system. Associated with the history ofthe alarm triggering event is timing data of the breach resulting in thealarm triggering event. At 107, the system of the present invention,armed with the time of the event, requests images and/or video from thearea of the breach resulting in the alarm triggering event. Once theimages and/or video is retrieved from a device of the life safety and/orlifestyle system, at 108, the process as illustrated in FIG. 1, 110-125proceeds accordingly and as described herein above.

The system of the present invention is agnostic to and compatible withall life safety and lifestyle systems and the devices associated witheach. The system of the present invention is configured to receive thedisparate signal types of life safety and lifestyle systems and thedevices associated with these systems and translate them into thelanguages central monitoring station software platforms need to processthe signals as with a traditional security system.

Emergency Responder Portal

As illustrated in FIG. 1 at 120, the operator of the central monitoringstation acts on the end-user's action. The operator action may includedispatch of emergency responders to the location of the alarm triggeringevent as illustrated in FIG. 4 at 121. At 122, the system of the presentinvention sends an electronic notification to an emergency responder,which may include any method of message transport including, but notlimited to, email, text message, or to proprietary software platformsrun on in-vehicle mobile data terminals of emergency vehicles. As anon-limiting example, the system of the present invention sends a linkinto the Computer Aided Dispatch program via the Automated Secure AlarmProtocol to Public Safety Answering Point process. At 123, theelectronic notification includes a hyperlink to a unique URL andrequires the entry of a code set to expire after a pre-determined timeinterval. The code may be provided by separate notification or may beassigned previously to the emergency response team, vehicle, and/ormobile data terminal. At 124, the emergency responder accessing the webportal via the URL may interact with the operator at the centralmonitoring station and/or the end-user associated with the location ofthe alarm signal. By way of the web portal, the emergency responder mayview location/map information, contact information associated with thelocation, alarm history, and/or live video clips as discussed herein andas depicted in the non-limiting exemplary interface of FIG. 5.

The URL and code associated with the emergency responder portal issubject to expiration after a pre-determined time interval. The timeinterval may be between 15 minutes and 4 hours, 30 minutes and 3 hours,1 hour and 2 hours, but is preferably 1 hour or less.

The system and method of the present invention is a SaaS platformproviding better information to end-users, monitoring centers, andemergency responders so that better decisions can be made in response toan alarm event. The system and method of the present invention, inresponse to an alarm event, connects with other data sources at thelocation of the alarm event to pull additional data necessary to providebetter information to the end-users, monitoring centers, and emergencyresponders. The present invention is agnostic to the type of hardware inuse at the alarm event location. The hardware may be included as part ofa life safety system, a lifestyle system, or a device forming part of anInternet of Things network. The additional data captured in response toan alarm event is evaluated in real-time to determine whether the alarmevent is verified. All available data captured by the present inventionfrom the location of the alarm event is analyzed to provide a scoreassociated with the priority of the alarm event.

As a non-limiting example, an alarm event may be triggered by a breachof a front door of a residence. An alarm signal is generated causing thesystem and method of the present invention to pull data from availablesources at the residence. These sources include hardware devicesassociated with a life safety system, a lifestyle system, or anIoT/Do-It-Yourself platform. By way of example, the system and method ofthe present invention may pull video data from a video source located atthe front door of the residence. Additionally, the system and method maydetermine whether the resident is at home via a source located at theresidence using geofencing technology. In this example, the universe ofdata pulled by the system and method of the present invention includes aconfirmed breach of the front door, video from the time of the breach ofthe front door, and information that the resident is not home at thetime of the breach. This collection of information is provided to theend-users, monitoring centers, and ultimately emergency responders toinform decision making processes. With respect to the end-user, adecision can be made to cancel the alarm, request dispatch, or conversedirectly with the monitoring agent. With respect to the emergencyresponders, decisions can be made to elevate the priority or makeinformed decisions related to the falsity or accuracy of the alarmevent. Ultimately, end-users, monitoring centers, and emergencyresponders are provided better information informing their decisions.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, lifestyle systemsas described herein may be closed systems. For example, an end-user mayequip their residence with sensors and surveillance equipment notconnected to a monitoring service. The closed system is thereforelimited to monitoring by way of the end-user's smartphone, laptop,tablet, and/or computer. The system of the present invention may beconfigured to create accounts with a central monitoring station of theend-user's choosing. Because the present system is agnostic to lifesafety and lifestyle systems, the account may be built, managed, andmonitored as described herein.

In another alternative embodiment, the system of the present inventionmay provide information relevant to an on demand request. For example,an insurance adjuster may request video from a particular day, time, andlocation relevant to an incident. Typically, such information may bedifficult to come by because the data is overwritten or destroyed. Thepresent system overcomes this deficiency by requesting historical datarelevant to the on demand request and as described herein.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, module, units, and steps described in connection withthe embodiments disclosed herein can often be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on theparticular constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled personscan implement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular system, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the invention. Inaddition, the grouping of functions within a unit, module, block, orstep is for ease of description. Specific functions or steps can bemoved from one unit, module, block, or step without departing from theinvention.

The above description of the disclosed embodiments, and that provided inthe accompanying documents, is provided to enable any person skilled inthe art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to theseembodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andthe generic principles described herein, and in the accompanyingdocuments, can be applied to other embodiments without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood thatthe description and drawing presented herein, and presented in theaccompanying documents, represent particular aspects and embodiments ofthe invention and are therefore representative examples of the subjectmatter that is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It isfurther understood that the scope of the present invention fullyencompasses other embodiments that are, or may become, obvious to thoseskilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention isaccordingly not limited by the descriptions presented herein, or by thedescriptions presented in the accompanying documents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for enabling interaction betweenan end-user, central monitoring station operator, and emergencyresponders by providing access to a web portal over a network, methodcomprising: receiving over a network an alarm signal from an alarmtriggering event, the alarm triggering event being associated with alocation; determining whether additional data sources are available atthe location of the alarm triggering event, the available additionaldata sources having additional data; upon determining additional datasources are available, capturing over the network the additional datafrom the additional data sources; determining a score associated with apriority of the alarm triggering event based at least in part on thecaptured additional data; providing a universe of captured data from thelocation of the alarm triggering event to an end-user and centralmonitoring station, the universe of captured data including at least thedetermined score and a video associated with the alarm triggering eventand at least an action taken by a permitted end-user; and providing anelectronic notification to the end-user, the electronic notificationenabling the end-user to request a responsive action by way of the webportal, the responsive action including at least a request to speakdirectly to an operator, the action taken by the permitted end-userbeing viewable on the portal and including whether the permittedend-user has viewed the video associated with the alarm triggeringevent.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alarm signal is transmittedby a life safety system.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alarmsignal is transmitted by a lifestyle system.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein the life safety system includes at least one selected from thegroup consisting of security alarm systems, access control systems, firealarm systems, and video surveillance systems.
 5. The method of claim 3,wherein the lifestyle system includes at least one selected from thegroup consisting of home automation capabilities providing control overlights, locks, thermostats, and cameras.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the alarm signal can be received from disparate systems over anetwork.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional data sourcesare not responsible for creating the alarm signal associated with thealarm triggering event.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the additionaldata sources include at least one of geofencing data sources andhardware devices associated with a life safety system, a lifestylesystem, a stand-alone device, and a device forming part of an Internetof Things network.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the universe ofcaptured data is selected from at least one of the group consisting of ahistory of the alarm triggering event, a location, a time stamp of thealarm signal, geofencing data from geofencing data sources, actionstaken by the central monitoring station, from the additional datasources at the alarm triggering event location, the geofencing dataincluding whether permitted end-users are within a pre-defined rangefrom the location of the alarm triggering event.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein the method further includes: receiving an on-demand requestfor information relevant the alarm triggering event, the on-demandrequest being received from anyone other than the end-user, theoperator, and the emergency responders; and providing the informationrelevant to the alarm triggering event, the information including videofrom a specified at least one of a day, a time, and a location relevantto the alarm triggering event.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein themethod further includes: receiving an end-user request to provide theresponsive action; receiving an operator action associated with theresponsive action; providing the electronic notification to at least oneemergency responder from the emergency responders, the electronicnotification enabling the emergency responder to request an access tothe web portal to view at least any one of an alarm history and videoassociated with the alarm triggering event; and receiving a firstresponder action.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein any one of theoperator action and the first responder action are viewable on the webportal.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the responsive actionincludes at least one of a request that an alarm associated with thealarm signal be cancelled and a request an emergency responder bedispatched.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification includesa hyperlink to a unique Uniform Resource Locator, the Uniform ResourceLocator specifying a location of the web portal, the hyperlink requiringan entry of a code set to expire after a pre-determined time interval.15. The method of claim 14, wherein the hyperlink is provided to aComputer Aided Dispatch program via an Automated Secure Alarm Protocolto Public Safety Answering Point process.
 16. A system including: ahardware-based web portal platform associated with at least one of alife safety system and a lifestyle system for enabling interactionbetween an end-user, central monitoring station operator, and emergencyresponders, the hardware-based web portal platform configured to:receive over a network an alarm signal from an alarm triggering event,the alarm triggering event being associated with a location; determinewhether additional data sources are available at the location of thealarm triggering event, the available additional data sources havingadditional data; upon determining additional data sources are available,capturing over the network the additional data from the additional datasources; determine a score associated with a priority of the alarmtriggering event based at least in part on the captured additional data;provide a universe of captured data from the location of the alarmtriggering event to an end-user and central monitoring station, theuniverse of captured data including at least the determined score and avideo associated with the alarm triggering event and at least an actiontaken by a permitted end-user; and provide an electronic notification tothe end-user, the electronic notification enabling the end-user torequest a responsive action by way of the web portal, the responsiveaction including at least a request to speak directly to an operator,the action taken by the permitted end-user being viewable on the portaland including whether the permitted end-user has viewed the videoassociated with the alarm triggering event.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the hardware-based web portal platform is further configured to:receive an on-demand request for information relevant the alarmtriggering event, the on-demand request being received from anyone otherthan the end-user, the operator, and the emergency responders; providethe information relevant to the alarm triggering event, the informationincluding video from a specified at least one of a day, a time, and alocation relevant to the alarm triggering event.
 18. The system of claim16, wherein the hardware-based web portal platform is further configuredto: receive an end-user request to provide the responsive action;receive an operator action associated with the responsive action;provide the electronic notification to at least one emergency responderfrom the emergency responders, the electronic notification enabling theemergency responder to request an access to the web portal to view atleast any one of an alarm history and video associated with the alarmtriggering event; and receive a first responder action.
 19. The systemof claim 18, wherein any one of the operator action and the firstresponder action are viewable on the web portal.
 20. The system of claim16, wherein the responsive action includes at least one of a requestthat an alarm associated with the alarm signal be cancelled and arequest an emergency responder be dispatched.